Hello Erika, and welcome to MG Book Village! KELCIE MURPHY AND THE HUNT FOR THE HEART OF DANU is the sequel in your hit fantasy series, which launched with Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts last year. Can you give us a brief summary of what fans can expect? 

Hello Middle Grade Book Village! THANK YOU so much for having me! In the next installment of the KELCIE MURPHY SERIES, The Hunt for the Heart of Danu, the Never-Ending War escalates. Readers are introduced to Lexis, a confident and loyal student at Braverwil, Winter’s military academy. She is sent to Summer as spy, on a mission to steal the Lands of Summer’s source of light and warmth, the Heart of Danu. Meanwhile, Kelcie has barely settled into school when her mother, the war goddess, appears to warn her of the impending doom. And of course, while all of that is going on, the Summerfolk, including the students at the Academy, must prepare for the Ascension, a ceremony that will choose the next Regent to replace the Queen. If you’ve read book one and are confused by that statement because you believe you know who the Regent is, as that person was mentioned in The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts, well, you’re in for a few surprises. The festivities include a ball, and all the stresses that comes with first dances (asking dates, revealed crushes, and heart breaks,) as well as a military tattoo, or as we call them, a parade.

Is this a book readers can jump into without reading the first one, or is it essential to start with the first one? 

I did a lot of brief reintroductions and summaries that should make it accessible for anyone who wants to start reading with The Hunt for the Heart of Danu, but the worldbuilding and character relationships began in book one, and if you want all the feels, I think you should read book one first.

Your series is rooted in ancient Irish mythology; can you give us some insight on the inspirations? 

The Academy for the Unbreakable arts was inspired by a legend from the Ulster Cycle of Irish history. A warrior teaching goddess named Scáthach taught the biggest heroes in Ireland’s ancient past how to fight with magical weapons and martial arts. Her school was located on the Isle of Skye, and called Dunscaith Castle which translates to The Fortress of Shadows. If you’ve read book one, you’ll know that Scáthach is the preceptor of the Academy in the Lands of Summer. In book two, readers meet her sister, Aífe who is the preceptor of Braverwil, Winter’s military training school. In the legends, the two sisters have a very argumentative past.

Also in book two, readers are introduced to an iconic legendary Irish artifact called the Stone of Destiny. You might’ve heard of a similar stone in Scottish mythology that resides in Edinburgh Castle and was recently brought to London for King Charles III to sit on during his coronation. In Irish lore, the Stone of Destiny that sits on the Hill of Tara would cry out when touched by the rightful king (or queen) who should rule Ireland. I think you can guess that this artifact has something to do with the Ascension Ceremony.

Kelcie is the star of the series, but Lexis is at the forefront in Book 2 and much of the story is told from her perspective. What can you share with us about their relationship, and the dynamics between the two girls? 

In arguments, they say there are always two sides to every story. There are also two sides two every war. At its heart, this series is about ending the Never-Ending War. It was imperative that readers meet both sides. Lexis introduces us to the Lands of Winter. We first meet her at her school, Braverwil, and in a great battle that becomes a turning point in the war.

Kelcie meets Lexis in the first chapter, over break from school, when she enters Chawell Woods to visit her grandmother. From the very beginning, Lexis sees Kelcie as an adversary, and is determined to hold on to her anger over what happened in the Lands of Winter. Kelcie sees Lexis as lost and alone, much like herself last year, and tries to befriend her. Slowly, Kelcie begins to realize Lexis may not be who she seems.

Through her time at the Academy with Kelcie, Lexis comes to realize that the people of the Lands of Summer are no different from her own people in Winter. But all too quickly, their time together comes to an end. When truth comes out, and the Lands of Summer is on the brink of extinction, it’s that spark of friendship and hope for a better future that brings them together.

Kelcie struggles with not fitting in—first in Book 1 when she seemed to have no parents, now because who her parents are. Why do you think writing real world issues against a fantastical backdrop can be so impactful to young readers? 

Real world issues create a commonality between the reader and the characters while so much else in the fantasy setting is different. I like to think of emotions as a universal language. Writing characters that tap into real world circumstances draws emotions that every reader has likely felt at one time or another. For example, in book one, having been moved all over Massachusetts, Kelcie was perpetually the new kid at school, a circumstance every reader, young or old, can identify with. We’ve all been the new kid, in the classroom, on a sports team, at camp, at least once in our lives. But Kelcie’s reaction is unique to her circumstances (and maybe other children in the foster care systems throughout our country) because she’s built emotional walls around herself. Friends don’t stick. She moves too much. Her skills at making friends are seriously lacking. She’s a recluse and quick tempered and is more concerned with her own miserable past to worry about others who might be hurting. But that all changes when she’s put in her fianna, and others show concern for her. Kelcie must step out of her comfort zone to say hello, ask what’s wrong when a classmate’s upset, and offer a helping hand for no reason other than to be nice. That can be a hard thing, but if Kelcie can do it, other kids who have might have similar walls, can do it too.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that stories lead by example.

There’s such chemistry between Kelcie and her friend Niall! Tell us what it’s like to write about young romance for middle grade readers. 

It’s so much fun! I get to go back to that time in my life and remember what it felt to crush on someone for the first time. Young romance is all about firsts. First butterflies. First burning cheeks. First awkward smiles. First misinterpretations of returned awkward smiles. So many stilted conversations. Stumbling over words, trying to make complete sentences. Oh, the dreaded symptoms of a first hard crush.

For a crush to grow into something more, whether it’s between real life young adults or fictional characters, takes time—time to get to know one another. And Niall and Kelcie have three books for that.

In book one, Niall is Kelcie’s first real friend, and she feels all the first feelings for him, but that friendship is also invaluable to her, and at risk in book two because of her father.

Any chance you can give a taste of what readers can look forward to in Book 3? And will that conclude the series?

Book three is the dramatic conclusion to the end of the Never-Ending War. Summer and Winter must unite against a common enemy, or it will be the end of both realms.

Book three will be the end of this series. Will there be more books set in this Otherworld? One never knows, but Kelcie’s story was always meant to be a trilogy.

Thank you so much, Erika, for sharing your thoughts with us today. All the best with your book’s release on July 25th!

A graduate of Vanderbilt University, with a passion for storytelling set in magical places, Erika Lewis spends as much time as she can traveling. When she’s not writing, she can generally be found scribbling notes in a blank book while wandering through abandoned buildings, all sorts of museums, and graveyards. Her list of credits spans the comics and novel space, including The Color of Dragons from HarperCollins, co-authored with the critically acclaimed fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, Game of Shadows from Macmillan’s Tor Books, Firebrand and Acursian from Legendary
Comics, #Guardian from Awesome Media & Entertainment, and The 49th Key from Heavy Metal Publishing.
Website: https://erikalewis.com/
Twitter: @ErikaElyLewis
Facebook: @TheErikaLewis
Instagram: @erikaelylewis
TikTok: @erikalewisauthor
Goodreads: Erika Lewis | Goodreads

Anne: Hello, Jenna! It’s great to have you here at MG Book Village to talk about the second book in your Lia Park series: Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms, which just came out from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. Would you please give readers a super brief summary of the action?

Jenna: Of course! The first book of the Lia Park series, Lia Park and the Missing Jewel, follows the adventures of a Korean American tween who must venture to the undersea kingdom of the Dragon King in Korea to save her parents from an evil diviner spirit.

In the second book, Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms, Lia and Joon go on a mission to recover an important magical object before an evil nine-headed monster also known as the King of Darkness finds it and plunges the world into darkness.

Anne: Great. Here in Book Two, you had to bring readers up to speed about who Lia is and what happened in Book One. What challenges did you face in writing Book Two? Was it easier or harder to write?

Jenna: Both were equally fun to write, but Book Two was very different from Book One, and the challenges were different. With Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms, I put a lot of pressure on myself because I didn’t want to disappoint readers who’d enjoyed the first book. This thought made it hard to write. I had to step away and change my mindset. When I started writing again, I channeled the fun and joy I had writing the first book into writing the second.

Anne: Nice. The joy definitely comes through. When Lia visits landmarks in Seoul, Korea, you note the many, many, many colors. The scenes made me think about how colorful (or not!) our towns and symbols are. I’ve never traveled to Korea. Would you say that in comparison, American monuments are rather subdued in color!?

Jenna: I love the colors on Korean traditional architecture. Now that you mention it, American monuments do seem more subdued but lovely in their own way. I think it’s hard to compare the two because they are just so different culturally. I love that in Korea, there’s a blend of modern, Western buildings and Korean palaces or hanok.

Anne: Are all of the places you mention real?

Jenna: Yes! All of the landmarks, neighborhoods, and cities in the book exist in real life. I just added the magic. Please feel free to use the Lia Park series as your own personal tour guide of Korea! 🙂

Anne: Fun! And I love how your characters speak both Korean and English. I liked learning, for example, that a Korean phrase about pastries suggests the same meaning as “mini-me” (or “you look just like your mom”). Tell me about you and your family. I see that you live in Texas. Do you and your kids converse in both Korean and English?

Jenna: When my first child was born, I spoke to her exclusively in Korean. My husband is Vietnamese so when he was around I’d switch back and forth from Korean to English. Since I am also a stay-at-home mom, the majority of the day I was able to speak Korean to my daughter. After the birth of my second kid, it became much more challenging. Now that they can talk and play together, the only time they speak Korean is when they are video chatting with my parents in Korea. When I speak to them in Korean, they understand me, but tend to answer in English. When we travel to Korea to visit my parents, their conversational Korean improves because the kids there insist on speaking only Korean.

I know realistically that with them growing up in the States, they will be more comfortable speaking English, and won’t have very many opportunities to practice Korean. But I’ll keep speaking to them in Korean and hope that someday they’ll have enough language skills to watch Korean dramas together, without subtitles.

Anne: When that happens, they’ll be proud of themselves. (I know I would be!)

Now, back to the book: at one point Lia and her friends have to make an object do something it wasn’t meant to do. The moment reminded me of Odyssey of Mind (Destination Imagination), a creative problem-solving activity that my kids enjoyed. Your sense of imagination is fabulous! Have you or your kids ever done OM or DI? What was your process in coming up with all the quirky and magical effects in this story?

Jenna: Thank you for noticing that! My older daughter did Destination Imagination at school and absolutely loved it. When I was writing, I had to do a lot of brainstorming to come up with the quirky and magical effects in the story. I mapped out different ways that something could happen and picked the visually most interesting or unexpected effects. For example, if in a scene I knew the kids would need flashlights, I brainstormed different sources of light. Then I picked the coolest object and of course added some magic to it.

Anne: In one scene, Lia and her friends play jokgu, a mix of volleyball and soccer. Is this game for real? Have you played it?

Jenna: Jokgu is a real game (minus the magic parts I included in the book)! I played it a few times when I was in high school. Unfortunately, I discovered that my coordination is not that great. It’s a fun but challenging game! If you ever get the chance, definitely give it a shot.

Anne: Will do. I think my kids would have a blast with it.

For Lia, one challenge is to get up early to practice a martial art called Hwarang. In addition to physical training, she must study the 5 codes: loyalty, filial piety, honor, courage, and justice. I love this! I wondered if you practice a martial art, and if so, which one? What impresses you most about martial arts training?

Jenna: One of the things I love about the Hwarang code is that it could be applied to kids today, and could be used to help develop future leaders. When I was growing up, I was focused on playing the cello and swimming, and I never learned martial arts, but in my twenties I did take a few self-defense classes. I would love to take Taekkyeon and Hwarangdo classes in the future. With these traditional Korean martial art forms, I’m most impressed by the beauty, strength and discipline required to master them.

Anne: Yes, discipline is key, both for martial arts and for writing. What are you working on now? Do you have plans for Book Three in the Lia Park series?

Jenna: Plans for Book Three are still to be determined. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that it will happen! In the meantime, I am working on something new that I can’t talk about quite yet. 🙂

Anne: Excellent. Now, before I close, I have a question about your bio (included below). In it, you say that you “take skin care very seriously.” What a great line! What made you want to add that line to your author bio? 

Jenna: For me, taking care of my skin is self-care. Getting a facial or just putting on a sheet mask is one of my favorite ways to unwind. I have pretty sensitive skin so I am very particular about what products I use. I love researching and discovering new products that work well for my skin. Aside from books and Korean dramas, it’s one of my favorite topics to chat about.

Anne: Love it. Okay, finally, where can readers go to learn more about you and your work?

Jenna: My website is authorjennayoon.com, and I’m on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as @authorjennayoon

Anne: Thank you so much for stopping by MG Book Village, and for writing such a fun story, full of magic and heart!

Jenna: Thanks for inviting me!

Jenna Yoon studied Art History at Wellesley College and received her Masters degree in Korean Art History from Ewha Woman’s University. She’s lived about half her life in both Korea and the United States. When she’s not writing, Jenna loves to travel, find yummy eats, play board games and takes skin care very seriously. Currently, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two kids.

Anne (A.B.) Westrick is the author of the older-MG novel Brotherhood. You can learn more about Anne at the MG Book Village “About” page.